SCORSESE DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION King of Comedy may seem at first sight a slighter work than its two this is no longer true of the violence in GoodFellas or Casino.An predecessors, but its implications are no less radical and subversive: it ssential characteristic of the later films is the rigorous distance one of the most complete statements about the emotional and Scorsese constructs between the audience and all the characters spiritual bankruptcy of patriarchal capitalism today that the cinema identification, if it can be said to exist at all, flickers only sp has given us. The symbolic Father (once incarnated in figures of radically--is always swiftly contradicted or heavily qualified. mythic force, like Abraham Lincoln)is here revealed in his essential Yet herein lies what is at least a potential problem of these films. mptiness, loneliness, and inadequacy. The"children"(De Ni One can analyze the ways in which this distance is constructed, Sandra Bernhard)behave in exemplary Oedipal fashion: he wants to especially through the increasing fracturing of the narrative line,the be the father, she wants to screw the father. The film moves to twin splitting of voice-over narration among different characters in both climaxes. First, the father must be reduced to total impotence(to the GoodFellas and Casino but isn't alienation, for many of us, inherent oint of actual immobility) in order to be loved; then Bernhard can the characters themselves and the subject matter? Scorsese has croon to him""You're gonna love me/like nobody's loved me, and insisted that the characters of Casino are * human beings: fair remove her clothes. Meanwhile, De Niro tapes his TV act which enough. But he seems to imply that if we cannot feel sympathetic to (exclusively concerned with childhood, his parents, self-deprecia- them we are somehow assuming an unwarranted moral superiority on)culminates in a joke about throwing up over his fathers ney One might retort(to take an extreme case-but the pesci character is oes, the shoes he is(metaphorically) now standing in. We see already pretty extreme)that Hitler and Albert Schweitzer were bot ambivalence towards the father, the hatred-in-rivalry of"brother human beings": may we not at least discriminate between them? and"sister, the sons need for paternal recognition (albeit in One can feel a certain compassion for the characters(even Joe Pesci) fantasy) before he can announce himselt to the woman he(very as people caught up in a process they think they can control but which dubiously) loves; and the irrelevance of the mother(a mere, intermit- tently intrusive, off-screen voice)to any"serious-ie, Oedipal really controls them; but can one say more for them than that? patriarchal-concerns Thus King of Comedy constitutes one of the Beyond that, though connected with it, is the films increasing inflation: not merely their length( Good Fellas plays for almost two- most rigorous assaults we have on the structures of the patriarchal and-a-half hours. Casino for almost three)but its accompanying sense nuclear family and the impossible desires, fantasies, frustrations, and of grandeur: for Scorsese, apparently, the grandeur of his subjects violence those structures generate: an assault, that is, on the funda mental premises of our culture. One is invited to lament, respectively, the decline of the Mafia and of Since 1990, Scorsese has made four films which, taken together. Las Vegas. But suppose one cannot see them, in the first place, in establish him definitively as the most important director currently terms other than those of social disease? the films strike me as too orking in Hollywood. GoodFellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Inno- insulated, too enclosed within their subjects and milieux: the Mafia cence, and Casino reveal an artist in total command of every aspect of nd Las Vegas are never effectively"in a wider social his medium-narrative construction, mise-en-scene, editing, the di context. scorsese's worst error seems to be the use in casino of the rection of actors, set design, sound, music, etc. Obviously, he owes final chorus from Bach's St. Matthew Passion: an error not merely of much to the faithful team he has built up over the years, each of whom"tease"but of sense, comparable in its enormity to Cimino's use of deserves an individual appreciation; but there can be no doubt of the Mahler"Resurrection symphony at the end of Year of the Scorsese's overall control at every level, from the conceptual to the Dragon. If it is possible to lament the decline of Las Vegas, it surely minutiae of execution, informed by his sense of the work as a totality cannot be inflated into the lament of Bachs cheer for the death of to which every strand, every detail, contributes integrally. If the films Christ on the cross. ontinue to raise certain doubts, to prompt certain reservations, it is One cannot doubt the authenticity of Scorsese's sense of the not on the level of realization, but on moral and philosophical tragic. Yet it is difficult not to feel that he has not yet found for it(to grounds. Let it be said at once, however, that The Age of Innocence, adopt T.S. Eliots famous formulation) an adequate"objective which in advance seemed such an improbable project-provokin correlative fears that it would not transcend the solid and worthy but fundamen- Martin Scorsese began the 1990s on a high note with goodFellas tally dull literary adaptations of James Ivory-is beyond all doubt but as the decade progressed, he has lost the support of the critics and and reservations a masterpiece of nuance and refinement, alive in its the public. Arguably, Scorsese hasnt tapered off as an artist; instead, every moment. the problem may be that his more recent films have failed to fulfill The other three films all raise the much-debated issue of the audience expectations. If so, it is somewhat ironic as Scorsese presentation of violence. There seem to be two valid ways of remains consistent in his thematic concems and commitment to style presenting violence(as opposed to the violence as"fun"of Pulp as selt expression. Fiction, violence as"aestheticized ballet of John Woo's films, or Casino is admittedly a demanding film. Viewer identification isn't violence as"gross out"in the contemporary horror movie). One way solicited and the films violence is excessive but without the absurdist is to refuse to show it, always locating it(by a movement of the connotations found in GoodFellas. On the one hand, the film offers amera or the actors) just off-screen (Lang in The Big Heat, Mizoguchi a portrait of the Robert De Niro character, a gambler who, through his Sansho dayu), leaving our imaginations free to connections with the Mafia, gets to manage a casino in Las vegas horror: a method almost totally absent from modern Hollywood. The during the late 1970s andearly 1980s. But Casino is al other is to make it as explicit, ugly, painful, and disturbing as possible that it reflects the growing power of corporations; realizing the money so that it becomes quite impossible for anyone other than an advanced to be made respectable"business takes over Las Vegas. Not unlike riminal psychotic to enjoy it. The latter is Scorsese's method, and he his role in Raging Bull, De Niro's character succeeds ultimately to the ot be faulted for it in the recent work. It was still possible, extent that he survives. Scorseses concern with surviving in a world perhaps, to get a certain"kick"out of the violence in Taxi Driver, that is violent, brutal, and overwhelmingly indifferent to the individ- because of our ambiguous relationship to the central character, but ual has been evident in his films from early on; but, in his more recent
SCORSESE DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 894 King of Comedy may seem at first sight a slighter work than its two predecessors, but its implications are no less radical and subversive: it is one of the most complete statements about the emotional and spiritual bankruptcy of patriarchal capitalism today that the cinema has given us. The symbolic Father (once incarnated in figures of mythic force, like Abraham Lincoln) is here revealed in his essential emptiness, loneliness, and inadequacy. The ‘‘children’’ (De Niro and Sandra Bernhard) behave in exemplary Oedipal fashion: he wants to be the father, she wants to screw the father. The film moves to twin climaxes. First, the father must be reduced to total impotence (to the point of actual immobility) in order to be loved; then Bernhard can croon to him ‘‘You’re gonna love me/like nobody’s loved me,’’ and remove her clothes. Meanwhile, De Niro tapes his TV act which (exclusively concerned with childhood, his parents, self-depreciation) culminates in a joke about throwing up over his father’s new shoes, the shoes he is (metaphorically) now standing in. We see ambivalence towards the father, the hatred-in-rivalry of ‘‘brother’’ and ‘‘sister,’’ the son’s need for paternal recognition (albeit in fantasy) before he can announce himself to the woman he (very dubiously) loves; and the irrelevance of the mother (a mere, intermittently intrusive, off-screen voice) to any ‘‘serious’’—i.e., Oedipal patriarchal—concerns. Thus King of Comedy constitutes one of the most rigorous assaults we have on the structures of the patriarchal nuclear family and the impossible desires, fantasies, frustrations, and violence those structures generate: an assault, that is, on the fundamental premises of our culture. Since 1990, Scorsese has made four films which, taken together, establish him definitively as the most important director currently working in Hollywood. GoodFellas, Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, and Casino reveal an artist in total command of every aspect of his medium—narrative construction, mise-en-scène, editing, the direction of actors, set design, sound, music, etc. Obviously, he owes much to the faithful team he has built up over the years, each of whom deserves an individual appreciation; but there can be no doubt of Scorsese’s overall control at every level, from the conceptual to the minutiae of execution, informed by his sense of the work as a totality to which every strand, every detail, contributes integrally. If the films continue to raise certain doubts, to prompt certain reservations, it is not on the level of realization, but on moral and philosophical grounds. Let it be said at once, however, that The Age of Innocence, which in advance seemed such an improbable project—provoking fears that it would not transcend the solid and worthy but fundamentally dull literary adaptations of James Ivory—is beyond all doubts and reservations a masterpiece of nuance and refinement, alive in its every moment. The other three films all raise the much-debated issue of the presentation of violence. There seem to be two valid ways of presenting violence (as opposed to the violence as ‘‘fun’’ of Pulp Fiction, violence as ‘‘aestheticized ballet’’ of John Woo’s films, or violence as ‘‘gross out’’ in the contemporary horror movie). One way is to refuse to show it, always locating it (by a movement of the camera or the actors) just off-screen (Lang in The Big Heat, Mizoguchi in Sansho Dayu), leaving our imaginations free to experience its horror: a method almost totally absent from modern Hollywood. The other is to make it as explicit, ugly, painful, and disturbing as possible so that it becomes quite impossible for anyone other than an advanced criminal psychotic to enjoy it. The latter is Scorsese’s method, and he cannot be faulted for it in the recent work. It was still possible, perhaps, to get a certain ‘‘kick’’ out of the violence in Taxi Driver, because of our ambiguous relationship to the central character, but this is no longer true of the violence in GoodFellas or Casino. An essential characteristic of the later films is the rigorous distance Scorsese constructs between the audience and all the characters: identification, if it can be said to exist at all, flickers only sporadically—is always swiftly contradicted or heavily qualified. Yet herein lies what is at least a potential problem of these films. One can analyze the ways in which this distance is constructed, especially through the increasing fracturing of the narrative line, the splitting of voice-over narration among different characters in both GoodFellas and Casino; but isn’t alienation, for many of us, inherent in the characters themselves and the subject matter? Scorsese has insisted that the characters of Casino are ‘‘human beings’’: fair enough. But he seems to imply that if we cannot feel sympathetic to them we are somehow assuming an unwarranted moral superiority. One might retort (to take an extreme case—but the Pesci character is already pretty extreme) that Hitler and Albert Schweitzer were both ‘‘human beings’’: may we not at least discriminate between them? One can feel a certain compassion for the characters (even Joe Pesci) as people caught up in a process they think they can control but which really controls them; but can one say more for them than that? Beyond that, though connected with it, is the films’ increasing inflation: not merely their length (GoodFellas plays for almost twoand-a-half hours, Casino for almost three) but its accompanying sense of grandeur: for Scorsese, apparently, the grandeur of his subjects. One is invited to lament, respectively, the decline of the Mafia and of Las Vegas. But suppose one cannot see them, in the first place, in terms other than those of social disease? The films strike me as too insulated, too enclosed within their subjects and milieux: the Mafia and Las Vegas are never effectively ‘‘placed’’ in a wider social context. Scorsese’s worst error seems to be the use in Casino of the final chorus from Bach’s St. Matthew Passion: an error not merely of ‘‘tease’’ but of sense, comparable in its enormity to Cimino’s use of the Mahler ‘‘Resurrection’’ symphony at the end of Year of the Dragon. If it is possible to lament the decline of Las Vegas, it surely cannot be inflated into the lament of Bach’s cheer for the death of Christ on the cross. One cannot doubt the authenticity of Scorsese’s sense of the tragic. Yet it is difficult not to feel that he has not yet found for it (to adopt T. S. Eliot’s famous formulation) an adequate ‘‘objective correlative.’’ Martin Scorsese began the 1990s on a high note with GoodFellas but as the decade progressed, he has lost the support of the critics and the public. Arguably, Scorsese hasn’t tapered off as an artist; instead, the problem may be that his more recent films have failed to fulfill audience expectations. If so, it is somewhat ironic as Scorsese remains consistent in his thematic concerns and commitment to style as self expression. Casino is admittedly a demanding film. Viewer identification isn’t solicited and the film’s violence is excessive but without the absurdist connotations found in GoodFellas. On the one hand, the film offers a portrait of the Robert De Niro character, a gambler who, through his connections with the Mafia, gets to manage a casino in Las Vegas during the late 1970s and early 1980s. But Casino is also an ‘‘epic’’ in that it reflects the growing power of corporations; realizing the money to be made, ‘‘respectable’’ business takes over Las Vegas. Not unlike his role in Raging Bull, De Niro’s character succeeds ultimately to the extent that he survives. Scorsese’s concern with surviving in a world that is violent, brutal, and overwhelmingly indifferent to the individual has been evident in his films from early on; but, in his more recent
DIRECTORS, 4 EDITION SCOTT works, this concern is, if anything, treated with greater hesitation and delicacy Much has been made of scorseses catholic background and its influence on his work. Kundun indicates that his interest in religion snt confined to Christianity. Kundun can be taken as a companion piece to The Last Temptation of Christ; but it can be considered equally in relation to Casino and the recent Bringing out the Dead Like Casino, Kundun is an epic film; and its protagonist is also made to confront his fallibility and mortality. In Kundun, the Dalai Lama gradually achieves full consciousness of the destructiveness existing around him; the realization is what motivates him to accept the necessity of his survival. But unlike Casino, the violence in Kundun is constrained; it exists as a threat that fitfully and devastatingly erupts Kundun is one of Scorseses most stylized films. Consistent with his aesthetics, the film is a combination of expressionism and realism. with the former given precedence. Although the film doesnt directly impose viewer identification with the Dalai Lama, Kundun repeatedly features the Dalai Lamas subjective responses. In effect, the film manages to be a simultaneously distancing and intimate experience. with Bringing out the Dead, Scorsese and Paul Schrader collaborated on a project that evokes their seminal Taxi Driver. Like the earlier film, Bringing out the Dead takes place on New Yorks"mean streets''and features a male protagonist who, in addition to having a job which places him in direct contact with the citys seamy side, harbors a martyrdom complex and wants to obtain salvation through becoming a savior figure. Th crucial difference between the two films resides in the character of the protagonist. Unlike Taxi Driver's Travis Bickle, the Nicolas Cage character in Bringing out the Dead is Ridley Scott motivated by genuinely humanistic impulses. He wants, not unlike the Dalai lama, to be a good person who is capable of actively 1967: directed first feature. The Duellists. 1977. Awards preserving human life. The character undergoes a crisis regarding his Jury Prize, Cannes Festival, for The Duellists, 1977: Venice Film his guilt over failure. As in Casino and Kundun, Bringing out the Dead is concerned fundamentally with the struggle between death and survival; and, like Casino, it is a brutal film. although the film Films as director: possesses an absurdist edge at times that suggests a black comedy. it is unrelenting in its capacity to disturb and horri uring the 1990s Scorsese produced works that have challenged 1977 The duellists the viewer as powerfully as any of his previous films. The films may 1979 Alie have not found acceptance partly because his vision has become 1982 Blade runner 1985 increasingly somber and elegiac. On the other hand, Scorsese refuses 1987 Someone to Watch over Me(+ exec-pr) to despair and his films continue to be exhilarating and life affirmin 1989 Black rain statements 1991 Thelma and Louise(+ co-pr) 1992 1492: The Conquest of Paradise(+ pr) -Robin Wood, updated by Richard Lippe 1996 White Squall ( exec pr) 1997 G.I. Jane (+ pr) 2000 Gladiator 2001 Hannibal SCOTT, Ridley Nationality: English. Born: South Shields, County Durham, 1939. Other films: Education: Studied at West Hartlepool College of Art and at the Royal College of Art, London. Family: Married, three children. 1994 The Browning Version(co-pr ); Monkey Business(exec pr) Career: Set designer, then director for BBC TV, including episodes 1997 The Hunger(series for TV)(exec pr) of Z-Cars and The Informer, 1966-67: set up production company 1998 Clay Pigeons(pr) Ridley Scott Associates, directed close to 3,000 commercials, from 1999 RKO 281 (for TV)(pr)
DIRECTORS, 4 SCOTT th EDITION 895 works, this concern is, if anything, treated with greater hesitation and delicacy. Much has been made of Scorsese’s Catholic background and its influence on his work. Kundun indicates that his interest in religion isn’t confined to Christianity. Kundun can be taken as a companion piece to The Last Temptation of Christ; but it can be considered equally in relation to Casino and the recent Bringing out the Dead. Like Casino, Kundun is an epic film; and its protagonist is also made to confront his fallibility and mortality. In Kundun, the Dalai Lama gradually achieves full consciousness of the destructiveness existing around him; the realization is what motivates him to accept the necessity of his survival. But unlike Casino, the violence in Kundun is constrained; it exists as a threat that fitfully and devastatingly erupts. Kundun is one of Scorsese’s most stylized films. Consistent with his aesthetics, the film is a combination of expressionism and realism, with the former given precedence. Although the film doesn’t directly impose viewer identification with the Dalai Lama, Kundun repeatedly features the Dalai Lama’s subjective responses. In effect, the film manages to be a simultaneously distancing and intimate experience. With Bringing out the Dead, Scorsese and Paul Schrader collaborated on a project that evokes their seminal Taxi Driver. Like the earlier film, Bringing out the Dead takes place on New York’s ‘‘mean streets’’ and features a male protagonist who, in addition to having a job which places him in direct contact with the city’s seamy side, harbors a martyrdom complex and wants to obtain salvation through becoming a savior figure. Th crucial difference between the two films resides in the character of the protagonist. Unlike Taxi Driver’s Travis Bickle, the Nicolas Cage character in Bringing out the Dead is motivated by genuinely humanistic impulses. He wants, not unlike the Dalai Lama, to be a good person who is capable of actively preserving human life. The character undergoes a crisis regarding his worth; at the film’s conclusion, he finds salvation through accepting his guilt over failure. As in Casino and Kundun, Bringing out the Dead is concerned fundamentally with the struggle between death and survival; and, like Casino, it is a brutal film. Although the film possesses an absurdist edge at times that suggests a black comedy, it is unrelenting in its capacity to disturb and horrify. During the 1990s Scorsese produced works that have challenged the viewer as powerfully as any of his previous films. The films may have not found acceptance partly because his vision has become increasingly somber and elegiac. On the other hand, Scorsese refuses to despair and his films continue to be exhilarating and life affirming statements. —Robin Wood, updated by Richard Lippe SCOTT, Ridley Nationality: English. Born: South Shields, County Durham, 1939. Education: Studied at West Hartlepool College of Art and at the Royal College of Art, London. Family: Married, three children. Career: Set designer, then director for BBC TV, including episodes of Z-Cars and The Informer, 1966–67; set up production company Ridley Scott Associates, directed close to 3,000 commercials, from Ridley Scott 1967; directed first feature, The Duellists, 1977. Awards: Special Jury Prize, Cannes Festival, for The Duellists, 1977; Venice Film Festival Award for commercial work. Films as Director: 1977 The Duellists 1979 Alien 1982 Blade Runner 1985 Legend 1987 Someone to Watch over Me (+ exec-pr) 1989 Black Rain 1991 Thelma and Louise (+ co-pr) 1992 1492: The Conquest of Paradise (+ pr) 1996 White Squall (+ exec pr) 1997 G.I. Jane (+ pr) 2000 Gladiator 2001 Hannibal Other Films: 1994 The Browning Version (co-pr); Monkey Business (exec pr) 1997 The Hunger (series for TV) (exec pr) 1998 Clay Pigeons (pr) 1999 RKO 281 (for TV) (pr)
SCOTT DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION Publications Wilmington, Mike, The Rain People, in Film Comment(New York) By SCOtT: articles.一 Wollen, Peter, Cinema's Conquistadors, in Sight and Sound Ridley Scott cineaste du decor, an interview with O. Assayas an Strick, Philip, Blade Runner: Telling the Difference, in Sight and S. Leperon, in Cahiers du Cinema(Paris), September 1982. Sound (London ), December 1992 Designer Genes, an interview with Harlan Kennedy, in Films Torry, Robert, "" Awaking to the Other: Feminism and the Ego-ldeal r1982 in Alien, in Women's Studies (Champaign, Illinois), vol. 23, Interview with Hubert Niogret, in Positif (Paris), September 1985 Interview with Sheila Johnston, in Films and Filming (London), Elrick. ted. "Scott Brothers work showcased for uk/la. in dga November 1985 Magazine(Los Angeles), December-January 1994-1995 Interview with Raphael Bassan and Raymond Lefevre, in Revue du Filmography, in Premiere(Boulder), February 1996. Cinema(Paris), February 1986 Dauphin, G, ""Heroine Addiction, in Village Voice(New York), 26 Interview with M. Buckley, in Films in Review(New York), Janu August 1997 ary 1987 Lev. Peter, "Whose Future? Star Wars, Alien, and blade runner. in Thelma and Louise Hit the road for Ridley Scott, an interview Literature/Film Quarterly(Salisbury), January 1998. with M. McDonagh, in Film Journal (New York), June 1991 Ridley Scotts Road Work, an interview with A. Taubin, in Sight and Sound (London), July 1991 1492: Conquest of paradise, an interview with A M. Bahiana, in Ridley scott has enjoyed more critical acclaim and financial Cinema Papers(Melbourne), October 1992. success as a director of television commercials than he has as a feature "Myth Revisited, an interview with M. Moss, in Boxoffice(Chi filmmaker. Ironically, the very element that has made him an award cago), October 1992. winning director of commercials--his emphasis on visual design to Stormy Weather, an interview with David E williams, in Ameri convey the message-has often been at the core of the criticism aimed can Cinematographer(Hollywood ), February 1996 at his film Interview with A Jones, in Cinema Papers(Fitzroy), July 1997. Though Scott began his career directing popular TV programs for the bbc. he found that his meticulous attention to detail in terms of On SCOtt: books- set design and props was more suited to making commercials. Scott honed his craft and style on hundreds of ad spots for British television during the 1970s, as did future film directors Alan Parker, Hugh Scoft's""Blade Runner"and Philip K. Dick's"Do Androids Hudson, Adrian Lyne, and Tony Scott(Ridleys brother). In 1979 Dream of Electric Sheep?, Bowling Green, Ohio, 1991 a captivating commercial for Chanel No. 5 title are the fan- ammon,Paul M, Ridley Scott: The Making of His Movies(Close Up), New York, 1999 tasy. Still innovative in this arena, Scott continues to spark contro- versy with his" pocket versions of feature films"-his term fo commercials On SCOTt: articles- Scott approaches his feature films with the same emphasis on mise-en-scene that distinguishes his commercials, prompting some Blade Runner Issue"of Cinefex(Riverside, California), July 1982. critics to refer to him as a visual stylist. Scott assumes control over the Blade Runner Issues"of Starburst(London), September/Nover visual elements of his films as much as possible, rather than turn the ber1982. set design completely over to the art director or the photography over Kellner, Douglas, Flo Leibowitz, and Michael Ryan, Blade Runner: to the cinematographer. Because his first feature, The Duellists, was A Diagnostic Critique, in Jump Cut( Chicago), no 29, 1983 shot in france, Scott was able to serve as his own cinematographer for Caron, A,""Les archetypes chez Ridley Scott, in Jeune Cinema that film-a luxury not allowed on many subsequent films due (Paris), March 198 union rules Durgnat, Raymond, 'Art for Films Sake, " in American Film(Wash- Hallmarks of Scott's style include a detailed, almost crowded set gton, D.C.), May 1983 design that is as prominent in the frame as the actors, a fascination Milmo, Sean, ""Ridley Scott Makes the Details Count, in Advertis- with the tonalities of light, a penchant for foggy atmospheres backlit ing Age( Chicago), 21 June 1984 for maximum effect, and a reliance on long lenses, which tend Doll, Susan, and greg faller, hese techniques are visually stunnin d Science Fiction, in Literature/Film Quarterly(Salisbury in themselves, they are often tied directly to plot and character in Maryland), no. 2, 1986 Scotts films Rosen, Barbara. How the Man Who Made Alien Invaded Madison Of all Scotts films, Blade runner and legend make the fullest Avenue, in Business Week(New York), 24 March 1986. of set design to enhance the theme. In Blade Runner, the polluted, Davis, Brian, ""Ridley Scott: He Revolutionized TV Ads, in Adweek dank metropolis teems with hordes of lower-class merchants and Chicago), 2 October 1989 pedestrians, who inhabit the streets at all hours. Except for huge Zimmer, J,""Ridley Scott, in Revue du Cinema(Paris), Septem- garish neon billboards, fog and darkness pervade the city, suggesting ber 1990 that urban centers in the future will have no daylight hours. This The Many Faces of Thelma and Louise"(8 short articles), in Film pessimistic view is in sharp contrast to the sterile, brightly lit sets Quarterly(Berkeley ), Winter 1991/92 found in conventional science-fiction films. Inherent in the set design
SCOTT DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 896 Publications By SCOTT: articles— ‘‘Ridley Scott cinéaste du décor,’’ an interview with O. Assayas and S. LePéron, in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), September 1982. ‘‘Designer Genes,’’ an interview with Harlan Kennedy, in Films (London), September 1982. Interview with Hubert Niogret, in Positif (Paris), September 1985. Interview with Sheila Johnston, in Films and Filming (London), November 1985. Interview with Raphael Bassan and Raymond Lefevre, in Revue du Cinéma (Paris), February 1986. Interview with M. Buckley, in Films in Review (New York), January 1987. ‘‘Thelma and Louise Hit the Road for Ridley Scott,’’ an interview with M. McDonagh, in Film Journal (New York), June 1991. ‘‘Ridley Scott’s Road Work,’’ an interview with A. Taubin, in Sight and Sound (London), July 1991. ‘‘1492: Conquest of Paradise,’’ an interview with A. M. Bahiana, in Cinema Papers (Melbourne), October 1992. ‘‘Myth Revisited,’’ an interview with M. Moss, in Boxoffice (Chicago), October 1992. ‘‘Stormy Weather,’’ an interview with David E. Williams, in American Cinematographer (Hollywood), February 1996. Interview with A. Jones, in Cinema Papers (Fitzroy), July 1997. On SCOTT: books— Kernan, Judith B., ed., Retrofitting ‘‘Blade Runner’’: Issues in Ridley Scott’s ‘‘Blade Runner’’ and Philip K. Dick’s ‘‘Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?,’’ Bowling Green, Ohio, 1991. Sammon, Paul M., Ridley Scott: The Making of His Movies (Close Up), New York, 1999. On SCOTT: articles— ‘‘Blade Runner Issue’’ of Cinefex (Riverside, California), July 1982. ‘‘Blade Runner Issues’’ of Starburst (London), September/November 1982. Kellner, Douglas, Flo Leibowitz, and Michael Ryan, ‘‘Blade Runner: A Diagnostic Critique,’’ in Jump Cut (Chicago), no. 29, 1983. Caron, A., ‘‘Les archétypes chez Ridley Scott,’’ in Jeune Cinéma (Paris), March 1983. Durgnat, Raymond, ‘‘Art for Film’s Sake,’’ in American Film (Washington, D.C.), May 1983. Milmo, Sean, ‘‘Ridley Scott Makes the Details Count,’’ in Advertising Age (Chicago), 21 June 1984. Doll, Susan, and Greg Faller, ‘‘Blade Runner and Genre: Film Noir and Science Fiction,’’ in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury, Maryland), no. 2, 1986. Rosen, Barbara, ‘‘How the Man Who Made Alien Invaded Madison Avenue,’’ in Business Week (New York), 24 March 1986. Davis, Brian, ‘‘Ridley Scott: He Revolutionized TV Ads,’’ in Adweek (Chicago), 2 October 1989. Zimmer, J., ‘‘Ridley Scott,’’ in Revue du Cinéma (Paris), September 1990. ‘‘The Many Faces of Thelma and Louise’’ (8 short articles), in Film Quarterly (Berkeley), Winter 1991/92. Wilmington, Mike, ‘‘The Rain People,’’ in Film Comment (New York), January/February 1992. Wollen, Peter, ‘‘Cinema’s Conquistadors,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), November 1992. Strick, Philip, ‘‘Blade Runner: Telling the Difference,’’ in Sight and Sound (London), December 1992. Torry, Robert, ‘‘Awaking to the Other: Feminism and the Ego-Ideal in Alien,’’ in Women’s Studies (Champaign, Illinois), vol. 23, no. 4, 1994. Elrick, Ted, ‘‘Scott Brothers’ Work Showcased for UK/LA,’’ in DGA Magazine (Los Angeles), December-January 1994–1995. Filmography, in Premiere (Boulder), February 1996. Dauphin, G., ‘‘Heroine Addiction,’’ in Village Voice (New York), 26 August 1997. Lev, Peter, ‘‘Whose Future? Star Wars, Alien, and Blade Runner,’’ in Literature/Film Quarterly (Salisbury), January 1998. *** Ridley Scott has enjoyed more critical acclaim and financial success as a director of television commercials than he has as a feature filmmaker. Ironically, the very element that has made him an awardwinning director of commercials—his emphasis on visual design to convey the message—has often been at the core of the criticism aimed at his films. Though Scott began his career directing popular TV programs for the BBC, he found that his meticulous attention to detail in terms of set design and props was more suited to making commercials. Scott honed his craft and style on hundreds of ad spots for British television during the 1970s, as did future film directors Alan Parker, Hugh Hudson, Adrian Lyne, and Tony Scott (Ridley’s brother). In 1979, Scott became a fixture in the American television marketplace with a captivating commercial for Chanel No. 5 titled ‘‘Share the Fantasy.’’ Still innovative in this arena, Scott continues to spark controversy with his ‘‘pocket versions of feature films’’—his term for commercials. Scott approaches his feature films with the same emphasis on mise-en-scène that distinguishes his commercials, prompting some critics to refer to him as a visual stylist. Scott assumes control over the visual elements of his films as much as possible, rather than turn the set design completely over to the art director or the photography over to the cinematographer. Because his first feature, The Duellists, was shot in France, Scott was able to serve as his own cinematographer for that film—a luxury not allowed on many subsequent films due to union rules. Hallmarks of Scott’s style include a detailed, almost crowded set design that is as prominent in the frame as the actors, a fascination with the tonalities of light, a penchant for foggy atmospheres backlit for maximum effect, and a reliance on long lenses, which tend to flatten the perspective. While these techniques are visually stunning in themselves, they are often tied directly to plot and character in Scott’s films. Of all Scott’s films, Blade Runner and Legend make the fullest use of set design to enhance the theme. In Blade Runner, the polluted, dank metropolis teems with hordes of lower-class merchants and pedestrians, who inhabit the streets at all hours. Except for huge, garish neon billboards, fog and darkness pervade the city, suggesting that urban centers in the future will have no daylight hours. This pessimistic view is in sharp contrast to the sterile, brightly lit sets found in conventional science-fiction films. Inherent in the set design
DIRECTORS, 4 EDITION SEIDELMAN is a critique of our society, which has allowed its environment to be Thelma and Louise, with its near-hallucinatory, flamboyantly destroyed. The overwrought set design also complements the feverish archetypal American Western settings( bearing little relation to such attempts by a group of androids to find the secret to longer life. Blade specificities as"Arkansas), debuted with much debate about how Runner influenced the genre with its dystopian depiction of the future, feminist it actually was in its characterizations of two"dangerous though the cluttered set design and low-key lighting were used earlier women"and in its delineations of the patriarchal causes of their by Scott in the science-fiction thriller Alien. Legend, a fairy tale doomed flight. But whatever conclusions might be drawn about the complete with elves, goblins, and unicorns, employs a simple theme films polemics, those unforgettable shots of Thelma and Louise of good and evil that is reinforced through images of light and whooping in delight as they light out for the territory in their T-bird darkness. The magical unicorns, for example, have coats of the purest convertible-red hair flying, sunglasses glinting-seem destined to white: an innocent, virginal character is costumed in flowing, white enter American mythology(granted that it is too soon to rank the pair gowns; sunbeams pour over glades of white flowers; and light alongside Huck and Jim on the raft). Closer to tall tale than high shimmers across silver streams as the unicorns gallop through the tragedy, Thelma and Louise is memorable due not only to the script forest. In contrast, a character called Darkness(actually the Devil) and the seemingly inevitable casting of the leads, but to Scotts looks magnificently evil in an array of blood reds and wine colors: the realization of landscapes, from the rainy night highways (a back inister Darkness resides in the dark, dismal bowels of the eart ground wash of massive dark trucks and blinding lights )to Monument where no light is allowed to enter; and a corrupted world is symbol- Valley and other vast spaces populated by little more than swarms of ized by a charred forest devoid of flowers and leaves and black clouds police vehicles. It may well be a defining film of the early 1990s, as Blade Runner has become for the early 1980s studio and is reminiscent of those huge indoor sets created for fritz Langs Siegfried. In Black Rain, Scott once again reinforced the Susan Doll, updated by Joseph Milicia films theme through its mise-en-scene, though here he made exten- sive use of actual locations instead of relying so much on studio sets. black Rain follows the story of two New York detectives tracking SeidelMan. Susan a killer through the underworld of Osaka, Japan. The two characters are frequently depicted against the backdrop of Osakas onate neon Nationality: American Born: Near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 11 signs and ultramodern architecture. Shot through a telephoto lens and December 1952. Education: Attended school in Philadelphia;stud lit from behind, the characters seem crushed against the huge set ied design and film at Drexel University and New York University design, which serves as a metaphor for their struggle to penetrate the Graduate School of film and TV. Career: Directed her first feature culture in order to track their man Though Scott has forged a style that is recognizably his own, his approach to filmmaking has a precedent in German Expressionist filmmaking. The Expressionists were among the first to use the elements of mise-en-scene(set design, lighting, props, costuming)to suggest traits of character or enhance meaning. Similarly, Scotts techniques are stunning yet highly artificial, a trait often criticized by American reviewers, who too often value plot and character over visual style, and realism over symbolism. Scotts more recent films, especially Thelma and Louise, suggest that his strongest quality all along has been an ability to create film myths that resonate in viewers' minds for years afterwards. The Duellists continues to be a haunting film despite the actors'inade quate performances, not just because of the splendidly romantic cinematography but because of the starkness of the tale itself (from Joseph Conrad); and Alien, with its own duel between a no-nonsense heroine and a hidden evil, continues to be an object of critical study, feminist and otherwise. Blade Runner, perhaps most of all of Scotts films, has seized the imagination of both movie fans and scholarly theoreticians: a 1991 volume of critical studies of the film contains 44-page annotated bibliography, and this is before the theatrical release of the"Directors Cut, which had aficionados debating the merits of its eliminating Deckard's noiresque voiceovers and the hopeful green hills at the end, and of adding a brief shot of a unicorn. One might attribute the relative failures of Someone to Watch over Me and Black Rain, despite their visual swank, to their inability to transcend tired generic conventions, while the more recent 1492: The Conquest of Paradise seems most successful in its mythic moments- notably Columbus's first glimpse of the New World as mists sweep aside-rather than in its efforts to document the Spanish extermina- tion of native peoples while partially exonerating Columbus himself. Susan Seidelman
DIRECTORS, 4 SEIDELMAN th EDITION 897 is a critique of our society, which has allowed its environment to be destroyed. The overwrought set design also complements the feverish attempts by a group of androids to find the secret to longer life. Blade Runner influenced the genre with its dystopian depiction of the future, though the cluttered set design and low-key lighting were used earlier by Scott in the science-fiction thriller Alien. Legend, a fairy tale complete with elves, goblins, and unicorns, employs a simple theme of good and evil that is reinforced through images of light and darkness. The magical unicorns, for example, have coats of the purest white; an innocent, virginal character is costumed in flowing, white gowns; sunbeams pour over glades of white flowers; and light shimmers across silver streams as the unicorns gallop through the forest. In contrast, a character called Darkness (actually the Devil) looks magnificently evil in an array of blood reds and wine colors; the sinister Darkness resides in the dark, dismal bowels of the Earth, where no light is allowed to enter; and a corrupted world is symbolized by a charred forest devoid of flowers and leaves and black clouds that cover the sky. The forest set was constructed entirely inside the studio and is reminiscent of those huge indoor sets created for Fritz Lang’s Siegfried. In Black Rain, Scott once again reinforced the film’s theme through its mise-en-scène, though here he made extensive use of actual locations instead of relying so much on studio sets. Black Rain follows the story of two New York detectives tracking a killer through the underworld of Osaka, Japan. The two characters are frequently depicted against the backdrop of Osaka’s ornate neon signs and ultramodern architecture. Shot through a telephoto lens and lit from behind, the characters seem crushed against the huge set design, which serves as a metaphor for their struggle to penetrate the culture in order to track their man. Though Scott has forged a style that is recognizably his own, his approach to filmmaking has a precedent in German Expressionist filmmaking. The Expressionists were among the first to use the elements of mise-en-scène (set design, lighting, props, costuming) to suggest traits of character or enhance meaning. Similarly, Scott’s techniques are stunning yet highly artificial, a trait often criticized by American reviewers, who too often value plot and character over visual style, and realism over symbolism. Scott’s more recent films, especially Thelma and Louise, suggest that his strongest quality all along has been an ability to create film myths that resonate in viewers’ minds for years afterwards. The Duellists continues to be a haunting film despite the actors’ inadequate performances, not just because of the splendidly romantic cinematography but because of the starkness of the tale itself (from Joseph Conrad); and Alien, with its own duel between a no-nonsense heroine and a hidden evil, continues to be an object of critical study, feminist and otherwise. Blade Runner, perhaps most of all of Scott’s films, has seized the imagination of both movie fans and scholarly theoreticians: a 1991 volume of critical studies of the film contains a 44-page annotated bibliography, and this is before the theatrical release of the ‘‘Director’s Cut,’’ which had aficionados debating the merits of its eliminating Deckard’s noiresque voiceovers and the hopeful green hills at the end, and of adding a brief shot of a unicorn. One might attribute the relative failures of Someone to Watch over Me and Black Rain, despite their visual swank, to their inability to transcend tired generic conventions, while the more recent 1492: The Conquest of Paradise seems most successful in its mythic moments— notably Columbus’s first glimpse of the New World as mists sweep aside—rather than in its efforts to document the Spanish extermination of native peoples while partially exonerating Columbus himself. Thelma and Louise, with its near-hallucinatory, flamboyantly archetypal American Western settings (bearing little relation to such specificities as ‘‘Arkansas’’), debuted with much debate about how feminist it actually was in its characterizations of two ‘‘dangerous women’’ and in its delineations of the patriarchal causes of their doomed flight. But whatever conclusions might be drawn about the film’s polemics, those unforgettable shots of Thelma and Louise whooping in delight as they light out for the territory in their T-bird convertible—red hair flying, sunglasses glinting—seem destined to enter American mythology (granted that it is too soon to rank the pair alongside Huck and Jim on the raft). Closer to tall tale than high tragedy, Thelma and Louise is memorable due not only to the script and the seemingly inevitable casting of the leads, but to Scott’s realization of landscapes, from the rainy night highways (a background wash of massive dark trucks and blinding lights) to Monument Valley and other vast spaces populated by little more than swarms of police vehicles. It may well be a defining film of the early 1990s, as Blade Runner has become for the early 1980s. —Susan Doll, updated by Joseph Milicia SEIDELMAN, Susan Nationality: American. Born: Near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 11 December 1952. Education: Attended school in Philadelphia; studied design and film at Drexel University and New York University Graduate School of Film and TV. Career: Directed her first feature, Susan Seidelman
SEIDELMAN DIRECTORS, 4 EDItION Smithereens, 1982; began directing episodes of the television series Jaehne, K, ""In Search of Susan, in Stills(London), May 1985 Sex in the City, 1998; began directing episodes of the television series Stacey, Jackie, Desperately Seeking Difference, in Screen (Lon- Now and Again, 1999. Awards: Best Short Film(Live Action) don), Winter 1987. Academy Award nomination, for The Dutch Master, 1994. Address: Current Biography(New York), 1990 c/o Michael Shedler, 225 West 34th Street, Suite 1012. New York, Cook, Pam, "Good Girl/Bad Girl- Susan Seidelman, in Monthly Y 10122-0049. Agent: William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Film Bulletin(London), May 1990 Drive. beverly Hills. CA 90212 Alion, Y, in Revue du Cinema(Paris), September 1990. Strauss, F, in Cahiers du Cinema(Paris). December 1992. Atkinson, M, Armed (with Cameras)and Dangerous, in Movieline Films as Director (Los Angeles), August 1995 1976-77 And You Act like One(short); Deficit(short): Yours Truly 982 Smithereens(+ pr, sto Prior to directing Smithereens, her breakthrough independen 1985 Desperately Seeking Susan feature, and Desperately Seeking Susan, the film that announced her as a major cinematic talent, Susan Seidelman made Deficit, a 40- 1989 Cookie(+sc); She-Devil(+co-pr) minute drama about a young man who seeks revenge for a crime 992 Confessions of a Suburban Girl(+ ro) committed against his father. The film was funded in part by the 1995 The Dutch Master(short, released as episode in Tales of American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Program. Call it Erotica in 1996(+c0-sc); The Barefoot Executive(for Tv) understatement or prophecy, but a comment on the films evaluation 999 A Cooler Climate(for TV) form portended Seidelman's future: The filmmaker shows a bud 2000 Gaudi Afternoon ding talent as a feature film director That talent was realized in Smithereens and Desperately Seeking Susan. Both are likably funky and keenly observed films featuring spirited, independent-minded but refreshingly unromanticized hero- Other Films ines: refugees from stifling suburbia who come to New York Citys East Village where they forge identities within a subculture. Both 982 Chambre 666(Wenders-for TV)(doc)(appearance films are knowing depictions of 1980s New York punk/New Wave/ 1993 The Night We Never Met (Leight)(co-assoc pr) No Wave culture, and are clearly defined observations of hipness and pseudo-hipness Smithereens, made for $80,000, is a minor landmark in the history Publications of the then-burgeoning American independent film movement; for one thing. it was the first such film accepted as an official competition entry at the Cannes Film Festival. Smithereens benefits By SEIDELMAN: articles- from its low budget, which allows it an authentic feel for time and place. Its heroine is Wren, a rootless 19-year-old whose motto might Interview with Richard Patterson, in American Cinematographer be""Desperately Seeking Celebrity. She lives in a shabby East (Los Angeles), May 1983 Village apartment, from which she is evicted for non-payment of rent; Interview with Dan Yakir, in Film Comment(New York), May/ she may be energetic and determined, but her dreams of achieving June 1985 fame, which are connected to the rock music industry and an idealized Interview with Peter Goldin, in Films in Review(New York), June/ Southern California lifestyle, are hazy at best. Instead of educating July 1985 herself and working to realize her dreams, wren pastes photocopi ' Celine and Julie, Susan and Susan, "interview with Jane Root, in of herself on subway car and station walls and attempts to link up with Stills(London), October 1985 a rock singer whom she foolishly regards as a meal ticket. She will say Interview with R. Censi and G.A. Nazarro, in Cineforum(bergamo, and do anything and manipulate anyone, even if the result is her own debasement. Her rationale for her behavior is a line she repeat throughout the scenario: "I got a million and one places to go On SEIDELMAN: book Seidelman entered the realm of mainstream filmmaking with he follow-up feature: Desperately Seeking Susan, a stylish screwball Redding, Judith M., and Victoria A. Brownworth, Film fatale comedy that remained faithful to the feeling of its predecessor and Independent Women Directors, Seattle, 1997 became a surprise box-office smash. In retrospect, it is one of the more entertaining films of the mid-1980s. There are two heroines in Desperately Seeking Susan. The first is Roberta, a bored suburban On SEIDELMAN: articles- housewife who sets out on a comic odyssey upon becoming intrigued by a series of"Desperately Seeking Susan"personal ads Robertas Susan Seidelman, in Millimeter(New York) counterpart, the Susan of the title, is a variation of Wren. She is August 1983 homeless but nonetheless ultra-hip East Village free spirit who has Rickey, Carrie, "Where the Girls Are, in American Film(Washing- various boyfriends and sexual liaisons, and who will think nothing of ton, D.C. ) January/February 1984 pilfering jewelry or stiffing a taxi driver. roberta and Susan become
SEIDELMAN DIRECTORS, 4th EDITION 898 Smithereens, 1982; began directing episodes of the television series Sex in the City, 1998; began directing episodes of the television series Now and Again, 1999. Awards: Best Short Film (Live Action) Academy Award nomination, for The Dutch Master, 1994. Address: c/o Michael Shedler, 225 West 34th Street, Suite 1012, New York, NY 10122–0049. Agent: William Morris Agency, 151 El Camino Drive, Beverly Hills, CA 90212. Films as Director: 1976–77 And You Act like One (short); Deficit (short); Yours Truly, Andrea G. Stern (short) 1982 Smithereens (+ pr, story) 1985 Desperately Seeking Susan 1987 Making Mr. Right (+ exec pr) 1989 Cookie (+ sc); She-Devil (+ co-pr) 1992 Confessions of a Suburban Girl (+ ro) 1995 The Dutch Master (short, released as episode in Tales of Erotica in 1996 (+ co-sc); The Barefoot Executive (for TV) 1999 A Cooler Climate (for TV) 2000 Gaudi Afternoon Other Films: 1982 Chambre 666 (Wenders—for TV) (doc) (appearance) 1993 The Night We Never Met (Leight) (co-assoc pr) Publications By SEIDELMAN: articles— Interview with Richard Patterson, in American Cinematographer (Los Angeles), May 1983 Interview with Dan Yakir, in Film Comment (New York), May/ June 1985. Interview with Peter Goldin, in Films in Review (New York), June/ July 1985 ‘‘Celine and Julie, Susan and Susan,’’ interview with Jane Root, in Stills (London), October 1985. Interview with R. Censi and G.A. Nazarro, in Cineforum (Bergamo, Italy), October 1992. On SEIDELMAN: book— Redding, Judith M., and Victoria A. Brownworth, Film Fatales: Independent Women Directors, Seattle, 1997. On SEIDELMAN: articles— Hachem, S., ‘‘Susan Seidelman,’’ in Millimeter (New York), August 1983. Rickey, Carrie, ‘‘Where the Girls Are,’’ in American Film (Washington, D.C.), January/February 1984. Jaehne, K., ‘‘In Search of Susan,’’ in Stills (London), May 1985. Stacey, Jackie, ‘‘Desperately Seeking Difference,’’ in Screen (London), Winter 1987. Current Biography (New York), 1990. Cook, Pam, ‘‘Good Girl/Bad Girl— Susan Seidelman,’’ in Monthly Film Bulletin (London), May 1990. Alion, Y., in Revue du Cinéma (Paris), September 1990. Strauss, F., in Cahiers du Cinéma (Paris), December 1992. Atkinson, M., ‘‘Armed (with Cameras) and Dangerous,’’ in Movieline (Los Angeles), August 1995. *** Prior to directing Smithereens, her breakthrough independent feature, and Desperately Seeking Susan, the film that announced her as a major cinematic talent, Susan Seidelman made Deficit, a 40- minute drama about a young man who seeks revenge for a crime committed against his father. The film was funded in part by the American Film Institute Independent Filmmaker Program. Call it understatement or prophecy, but a comment on the film’s evaluation form portended Seidelman’s future: ‘‘The filmmaker shows a budding talent as a feature film director.’’ That talent was realized in Smithereens and Desperately Seeking Susan. Both are likably funky and keenly observed films featuring spirited, independent-minded but refreshingly unromanticized heroines: refugees from stifling suburbia who come to New York City’s East Village where they forge identities within a subculture. Both films are knowing depictions of 1980s New York punk/New Wave/ No Wave culture, and are clearly defined observations of hipness and pseudo-hipness. Smithereens, made for $80,000, is a minor landmark in the history of the then-burgeoning American independent film movement; for one thing, it was the first such film accepted as an official incompetition entry at the Cannes Film Festival. Smithereens benefits from its low budget, which allows it an authentic feel for time and place. Its heroine is Wren, a rootless 19-year-old whose motto might be ‘‘Desperately Seeking Celebrity.’’ She lives in a shabby East Village apartment, from which she is evicted for non-payment of rent; she may be energetic and determined, but her dreams of achieving fame, which are connected to the rock music industry and an idealized Southern California lifestyle, are hazy at best. Instead of educating herself and working to realize her dreams, Wren pastes photocopies of herself on subway car and station walls and attempts to link up with a rock singer whom she foolishly regards as a meal ticket. She will say and do anything and manipulate anyone, even if the result is her own debasement. Her rationale for her behavior is a line she repeats throughout the scenario: ‘‘I got a million and one places to go.’’ Seidelman entered the realm of mainstream filmmaking with her follow-up feature: Desperately Seeking Susan, a stylish screwball comedy that remained faithful to the feeling of its predecessor and became a surprise box-office smash. In retrospect, it is one of the more entertaining films of the mid-1980s. There are two heroines in Desperately Seeking Susan. The first is Roberta, a bored suburban housewife who sets out on a comic odyssey upon becoming intrigued by a series of ‘‘Desperately Seeking Susan’’ personal ads. Roberta’s counterpart, the Susan of the title, is a variation of Wren. She is a homeless but nonetheless ultra-hip East Village free spirit who has various boyfriends and sexual liaisons, and who will think nothing of pilfering jewelry or stiffing a taxi driver. Roberta and Susan become